I II Mr. Isaac Stewart. ( 30 May.) 238 MINUTES OF EVIDENCE BEFORE SELECT COMMITTEE Have you been able to discover that Act ?— I have not; but I recollect having read an extract from it somewhere, that to secure to the poor consumers and the growers of this necessary article of food, it has been provided by law that the Lord Mayor shall provide a beam and scale, and shall weigh all potatoes coming to the market free of any charge whatsoever. Have you ever seen that Act?— I have not. Have you ever looked for that Act ?— I have. Have you ever made inquiries for that Act ?— I have. Did you ever ascertain the year of the reign in which it was passed?—- Yes, I did ascertain in a book which I have read, but I could not find that book in London; it was a pamphlet written by Counsellor Finlay, and the Act is mentioned in that pamphlet. What is the custom or stallage paid at present upon potatoes ?— It is 2 d. on sacks of three hundred weight, and I believe above that weight it is 3 d. In point of fact, what is the usual quantity in each sack of potatoes ?— I believe it is under three hundred weight: they are usually in barrels of 2 cwt. 2qrs. 14 lb. I am informed the charge on potatoes is not for weighing, or granting a ticket of the weight, but for the stallage or use of the ground whereon the market is held. Has there not been a potato- market lately erected in the city of Dublin ?— I believe not; it is held in an open space, called the Little Green. In point of fact, at the present moment, are they allowed to be sold outside that market ?— I cannot answer that question. With respect to the ground which has been lately inclosed, being part of the Little Green, it was in my memory an open space; it appeared to me to belong to the public, as an open thoroughfare. I believe part of this ground is now inclosed, and probably potatoes may be sold both inside and outside this place. Are you of opinion that the Little Green is not the estate of tne city of Dublin ? — I am not aware of that; I know Newgate and the sheriff's prison are erected on the ground called the Little Green, in Green- street, but I am not aware that the whole of the ground round Newgate is the estate of the city of Dublin. Are you aware in whose Mayoralty that potato- market was established?— I am not. Are you aware of the regulations at present existing with respect to the right of stallage, and the management and support of that market ?— I am not; I have already mentioned the names of the officers connected with the potatoe, the fowl, and fruit- market, all those articles are sold in the same neighbourhood ; the chief part of the ground whereon those markets are held belong to a man of the name of Halpen, whereon a distillery once stood. Are you aware whether Halpen held that under a lease from the city of Dublin, and that his lease expired?— I am not; but I have been informed by Halpen that he had at one time an interest in that market; but how or when it was transferred from him I am not prepared to say. What alterations or improvements would you suggest in the management of the potatoe and fruit- market of Dublin ?— I consider the weighing of potatoes at the Little Green could be very well done for a great deal less money than is at present charged and paid. Is there any charge made?— I consider it the same thing whether it is paid in the shape of stallage, or as a charge for weighing ; it amounts to the same thing. Are you aware that before that market was established the sacks stood in the public street?— I certainly must say, that since that encroachment has been made in the ground I have not been in the habit of attending the market, but I know there was a considerable space, affording room enough for the people to sell and exercise the privilege that they formerly had enjoyed. What do you mean by the encroachment ?— I mean inclosing ground that was formerly free for the public. Do you think that a man inclosing his own estate is an encroachment ?— Certainly 110L Have you any doubt that that ground belongs to the Corporation ?— I have very considerable doubts. Why have you ?— Because it was open to the public for at least fifteen years within my memory. Do you mean to say that not inclosing ground divests the owner of his title to it? — Certainly not. What